Dappled and dapperIn “A Streetcar Named Desire,”...

Dappled and dapper

In “A Streetcar Named Desire,” Blanche DuBois relied on the kindness of strangers -- and diffused lighting. Blanche softened the harsh glare of the bare bulb in the Kowalskis’ apartment with a Chinese lantern. Too bad she was whisked off to the rubber room and didn’t get a chance to see what designer Tord Boontje could do with some colored paper and a simple light. Using a die-cutting process, the Dutch-born, London-based Boontje has created an intricate garden of leaves and flowers that can be draped around the plastic collar that comes with his Midsummer Lights for L.A. architectural studio Artecnica.

“Light can be a very powerful tool to influence a space,” Boontje says. “I like the dappled light in forests, and the glitter and sparkle of ice, cities, crystals and parties.” To get the colored lights going, Boontje’s design also comes in two-tone combinations of blue, pink and orange as well as in pure white.

The Midsummer Light ($67) is sold at Zipper in Los Angeles ([323] 951-0620), and a smaller version of this design stamped out of thin sheets of brass and stainless steel will become available by ... midsummer.

-- David A. Keeps

Don’t get hosed

Word to the water wise: There’s a new inexpensive device that aims to conserve resources and lower utility bills -- with your assistance. Simply thread the WaterWatch Water Meter onto a garden hose, and you can see it tick off each precious gallon that flows into the landscape on an easy-to-read dial.

Using this simple tool is addicting and enlightening: 20 gallons on the veggies, reset, 30 on the lemon tree, reset, 40 more on the roses -- more water in far less time than a gardener might imagine. And quite likely more than the plants really need.

In addition to the garden and outdoor model shown ($9.95), WaterWatch offers a fan-sprayer and eight-pattern nozzles with built-in water meters, as well as a model for the shower. All products are available at www .h2owatch.net.

-- Lili Singer

Resort luxury at home

The special-occasion luxury of sleeping in a resort bed can become an everyday occurrence, if you bring the mattress and linens home with you. They won’t fit in your suitcase, but like a few other ritzy hotels, the Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach sells its bed components in its gift shop and now online and through a catalog.

The collection includes dark mahogany bed frames (king size for $4,000, including delivery), custom Sealy box springs and mattress sets (starting at $1,029) and white goose down pillows ($100 to $140).

Most of the linens, from pillowcases to duvets, have a 450-thread count and are made with 100% white Egyptian cotton.

To order the new catalog, call (877) 715-6544; www.montageshops.com.

-- Janet Eastman

Not so stellar helper

Ever toss a toaster because it wouldn’t toast? Give up on a balky answering machine after only a year or two? Such items shouldn’t be disposable, but often seem to be. Repairing them can cost more than the item itself. “If It’s Broke, Fix It!” (Alpha, $21.95) attempts to be the quick reference you’ve always needed. At almost 600 pages, it is an extensive book that offers repairs for items from computers to drywall.

This is one-stop shopping for the putterer who wants to fix a fishing reel, then move to the lawn mower. Each project has its own chapter, with easy-to-follow advice and tip boxes galore. Diagrams and photos help, but this is where the book needs repair. The photos are often sketchy, and the diagrams are only slightly better. Fix-it books rise or fall on the clarity of their visuals. The best I ever used was Michael Litchfield’s “Renovation.” “If It’s Broke, Fix It!” doesn’t compare.

-- Chris Erskine